James Dormer (1679–1741) was a British Army officer, a lieutenant-general, and colonel of the 1st troop of

Horse Grenadier Guards The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to as Horse Grenadiers, were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Troops of ...

Life

The son of Robert Dormer (1628?–1689) of

Dorton Dorton (or Dourton) is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire. It is in the western part of the county, about north of the Oxfordshire market town of Thame. Manor The village toponym is derived from the O ...

, Buckinghamshire, and his second wife,

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

, daughter of Sir Charles Cotterell, he was born 16 March 1679. He was appointed lieutenant and captain in the

1st Foot Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

13 June 1700, at which rank he was wounded at the

battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (; ; ) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the reconstituted G ...

, in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, where his brother Philip was killed. In command of a newly raised corps of Irish foot, Dormer went to Spain, and took part in the

Battle of Saragossa The Battle of Saragossa, also known as the Battle of Zaragoza, took place on 20 August 1710 during the War of the Spanish Succession. A Spanish Bourbon army loyal to Philip V of Spain and commanded by the Marquis de Bay was defeated by a Gra ...

. He was taken prisoner with General James Stanhope at

Brihuega Brihuega is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2007 census ( INE), the municipality had a population of 2,835 inhabitants. In 1710 a hard-fought battle took place in the township between Lord Stanhope ...

in December 1710, and was sent home on parole. On the death of

Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun ( – 15 November 1712), was an English politician best known for his frequent participation in duels. He was killed in the Hamilton–Mohun duel in Hyde Park, London. Biography Mohun was the second child of C ...

in a noted duel with the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

in 1712, Dormer, who had been exchanged, was appointed colonel of Mohun's regiment, which was disbanded the year after. In 1715 Dormer was commissioned to raise a regiment of

dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

in the south of England, which became the

14th King's Hussars The 14th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 19 ...

. He commanded a brigade during the Lancashire

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

, and engaged with the rebels at Preston. Transferred to the colonelcy of the 6th Foot in 1720, he was in June 1725 sent as envoy extraordinary to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. There he was in dispute with Thomas Burnett, the British consul. Dormer was appointed a lieutenant-general and colonel 1st troop of Horse Grenadier Guards in 1737, and

Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull Below is a list of those who have held the office of Governor of Kingston upon Hull: Governors of Kingston upon Hull *1536: John Hallam *1546–1552: Sir Michael Stanhope (beheaded, 1552) *?-1639: Sir John Hotham, 1st Baronet *1639–1641: Sir ...

in 1740. He died at Crendon,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, 24 December 1741. A member of the

Kit-Cat Club The Kit-Cat Club (sometimes Kit Kat Club) was an early 18th-century English club in London with strong political and literary associations. Members of the club were committed Whigs (British political party), Whigs. They met at the Trumpet Tavern ...

, he collected a fine library, and is said to have been an acquaintance of

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

. He was unmarried, and bequeathed the Chearsley and

Rousham Rousham is a village and civil parish beside the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire. The village is about west of Bicester and about north of Kidlington. The parish is bounded by the River Cherwell in the east, the A4260 main road between Oxford a ...

estates to his cousin Clement Cottrell-Dormer.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Dormer, James 1679 births 1741 deaths British Army lieutenant generals Ambassadors of Great Britain to Portugal Grenadier Guards officers 14th King's Hussars officers Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession